Obama Lied, People Died

One of the few key factors that differentiated Obama from McCain (and, for that matter, from Hillary Clinton), was his position on Iraq. Prior to becoming a Senator, he opposed the Iraq war at a crucial moment — before the bombs began falling. He had a mixed record at best on war voting as a Senator, but continued to criticize the Republicans, very much rightly so, for this horrendous and terrible war — perhaps the single worst enterprise in all the Bush years, which is saying more than a lot.

Upon coming to power, Obama shifted his timetable, extending it by months, and even saying that 50,000 troops would remain there at least until 2011. They would be “non-combat” troops — raising the question, what does that mean? Are they going to be allowed to fire back at natives who continue to be resentful about the US occupation of Iraq? And of course, keeping these permanent bases in Iraq, including one bigger than the Vatican, will require a presence that will likely extend beyond Obama’s first term, or even second.

The president has not offered any solid indication that the US will withdraw completely, ever. America might be there as long as it’s been in Germany and Japan and Korea. This is also frighteningly similar to his long-term designs for Afghanistan. The US could be there indefinitely as well. >>>